Headed to Chitown

Posted by | July 29, 2007 at 11:07 PM

With eight wins in their last nine games, the Phillies boarded a plane tonight bound for Chicago. When they open their seven-game road trip Monday night at Wrigley Field, they will face a team even hotter than them.

Much like the Phillies, the Cubs spent the first two months of the season fumbling around. The Phillies ended play June 2 at 27-28; the Cubs were 22-31.

Since then, however, both teams have played at a higher level. The Phillies are 28-21 since June 2; the Cubs are 33-17.

Now, with just over two months to go, the Phillies and Cubs are both in the middle of the playoff race. The Phillies have crept within 3 1/2 games of the NL East-leading Mets and 1 1/2 games of the wild-card-leading Diamondbacks. The Cubs are in even better position, just a half-game behind the fading Brewers in the NL Central and one game behind the Diamondbacks in the wild-card race.

So plenty will be at stake during the Phillies' four-game visit to Chitown.

How do the teams' match up? The Phillies, of course, have the highest-scoring offense in the National League (568 runs), while the Cubs (481) rank a middle-of-the-pack ninth.

The pitching is a different story. The Cubs have moved to second in the NL in ERA (3.86), behind only the Padres. The Phillies are no longer last in the NL in ERA; they are now next-to-last (4.78), ahead of just the Cardinals (4.79).

The Cubs' pitching strength is in their rotation, but the Phillies catch a break in missing Chicago ace Carlos Zambrano (14-7, 3.47). The Phillies will face Ted Lilly (11-4, 3.46) and Rich Hill (6-6, 3.59), two tough left-handers.

One thing to watch throughout this Phillies road trip, which will end with a three-game series in Milwaukee, is how they handle the absence of Chase Utley. Sure, the Phillies managed fine without him during their three-game sweep of the Pirates. But teams often get a boost immediately after a key player gets injured. The Pirates aren't exactly potent, either.

This week will give everyone a better idea of how the Phillies will fare without Utley, who will likely miss a month.